central bank-low rates

SEOUL, March 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top central banker said Friday that there are some concerns in the global financial markets that a long streak of low rates could spark unintended problems.

"Some heads of global investment banks express concerns over when the global economy will recover. But others said that a long streak of low rates could bring about problems that we never expected," Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo told heads of local banks.

Kim cited the risks of sparking bubbles as the case in point for such problems.

His remarks came as analysts are divided over whether the BOK will cut the key interest rate at April's rate-setting meeting.

The remarks appeared to be in response to market players' strong bets on a rate cut as early as April.

"The governor's wording seems to be hinting at a rate freeze. But market players are awaiting the depth of the government's economic stimulus packages to gauge the BOK's next move," said Yoon Yeo-sam, a fixed-income analyst at Daewoo Securities Co.